After an Afternoon
by lostmarble
Summary: Inuyasha admits to himself that he finds Kagome beautiful, but refuses to admit this and other feelings to her...actually, he's not even sure what these feelings mean. That changes after one afternoon. rated for adult and sexual situations
1. Untamed and Untrained

**Note:** Wow. Overwhelming responses from people wanting an Inu/Kag fic, and a few that thought that "Sleeping to Dream" was one.

I love the pairing, too…I just had a couple of ideas for the Sess/Kag one (btw: the stories sort of—and only sort ofgo together. I'm beginning a series with _Knotted Kite Strings_) The deal with "Sleeping to Dream" is that it was a one-shot—yes, about Kag and Sess.

However, this story, one that I had been playing with for some time, is dedicated to the other Inu/Kag fans out there. I hear ya, kay? Here it is, "After an Afternoon"—another Jason Mraz songfollowing my tradition of using lyrics as inspiration: Let me know what you thought of the outcome—my 1st Inu/Kag.

To listen to the song, email me at with a request, and your email address. I will send it as an attachment. It really is beautiful, so long as you like acoustic (and boy, do I ever!)

**Disclaimer:** I own neither the song nor the characters…though I wouldn't mind having both Inuyasha and Jason Mraz… coughin bedcough

"Bare my windowed self untamed and untrained  
Dreams that hardly touch our complexions truest faults  
If room enough for both my drowsy spirit shall fall

"Bold waves tumble to the season of my heart  
Where you have offended my faith and my trust  
Until all is lost into the beauty of the day

"But there's something in the way you laugh  
That makes me feel like a child  
Aspects of life they confuse me  
You and your thesis amuse me

"After and afternoon with you  
And your rich brown eyes  
Your lips and dark hair  
Elbows and exposed knees tossing toward the ceiling

"After an afternoon...

"Face to palm  
Tear to tear  
Mouth to tongue  
Heart to ground  
I am in love."

Jason Mraz, "After an Afternoon"

…**One…**

"I bare my windowed self untamed and untrained  
Dreams that hardly touch our complexions truest faults  
If room enough for both my drowsy spirit shall fall"

The red form bounds before the group of walkers. Ears swivel amid a mass of unruly silver hear, and amber eyes flash in the early morning sun. Mist twines its way through the trees, caressing each branch shyly, like a timid admirer. The sun catches in the mist and, as it streams through the branches of the trees, creates bright shafts of light that pool on the ground below. The air is sweet with the smell of last night's rain: pine needles and wet grass.

Though he watches the area diligently, the young man absorbs none of its beauty. His mind is elsewhere. Rather, he is at a very nearby location, about two hours before…

He watches the sun as it rises, bleeding a full spectrum of color into the pale but welcoming sky. His leg dangles lazily over the branch. The warmth of the sun reaches his contented face, as he leans back against the trunk, twenty feet above the ground. Or, he is nearly contented. He cannot help but glance at the small, sleeping form on the ground under his tree: how she would exclaim over this beauty. Then, looking at her, he would tell her that yes, it was. _As was she._ But he would never let her know that. He whispered it to her every morning as he watched her sleep…and each night before he slept, falling into dreams of her. But never, _never_ while she was awake. _Never_ when she might overhear…this was his true flaw—his only cowardice. What would he do if she responded wrong? How did he even _want_ her to respond?

The girl has been with him for two years now. They spend more time together than apart, and she knows him inside and out. She seems to accept his flaws, and maybe even…the fact that he is a hanyou. _My shame and the cause for the early loss of his childhood_. ..the first person that he knew that accepted this about him. Even his own mother had had trouble accepting his dual heritage. What would he do if his…. best friend did not…could not… _She is that isn't she? My best friend. She accepts my nature, though I know she finds it wild and crude sometimes, and loves me in spite of it_. He suddenly stops running, and stands in the middle of the trail. _She loves me. But how? Just as her wild friend or…?_

The thought is too much. He bounds off, feet barely touching the dirt road. Though he had been going at a manageable pace before, now, the humans cannot keep up. The young silver-haired man fails to notice the concerned expression on the face of the dark-haired girl that had been on his mind all the while.


	2. The Beauty of the Day

…**Two…**

"Bold waves tumble to the season of my heart

Where you have offended my faith and my trust

Until all is lost into the beauty of the day"

* * *

Finally, after nearly an hour, he stops running. His crow's nest of silver hair swirls around him, then floats down like an unruly cloud. Oblivious to the absurdity of his actions, he abruptly sits down in the middle of the road, cross-legged, arms in sleeves, as though attempting to shield himself from the world as much as is possible. 

The menacing world, filled with ominous bird chirps and suspicious flowers, seems to fly in the face of his attempts at isolation. The sun shines in a sky even more vibrantly blue than before, with clouds that were so perfectly soft that, to his tortured nerves, nothing looks better than a long nap wrapped in one of those downy white beds, high above the Earth and all that plagues him there.

_So she loves me, _he has finally concluded, secure in this knowledge. _But as a… what, exactly? I want to think that all of the moments that we have spent together, those that stand out in my memory, matter to her for the same reasons. _

He stares off into the distance, his mind on a night that they had spent by a fire together.

- )+(-)+(-

This night was a night like most other nights, until she began to sneeze. He had lent her his jacket as she shivered, telling her gruffly not to get sick. Mentally, he had been screaming at her that if she got sick, it was the one thing he couldn't protect her from…and he didn't know what would happen if she left him…he didn't know what he would do.

She seemed to understand however, laying her head on his shoulder and quietly thanking him. He flushed bright red, thankful for the weak, flickering light of the fire. And also for its warmth…

In minutes, she was asleep. He looked down at the dark head still resting on his shoulder, and felt an odd tightening in his lower abdomen, as though his intestines had suddenly been twisted and compressed. _I want it to be like this,_ he realized.

This was why, then next day, when the others decided that she should go to her own time to get care, he got angry and stomped out, but did not actually stop her. However much he wanted to be near to her, he wanted her healthy more. So, when he brought back "get better" gifts for her later that day, he did not really expect her to be waiting for him. He had thrown the obligatory fit when the monk and the demon slayer told him that they had taken her back to her time, but was soon diving through the well to be near to her.

He wracked his brain for his mother's old remedy for colds, and finally, it come to him. Retrieving the ingredients from his store of get well gifts, he quickly returned to the ill girl's house to cook up his concoction. He made sure that she drank it, and watched over her as she studied for a test that she had the next day, and then, later, as she slept. That was the first night that he whispered to her sleeping form her sleeping form…

"I will always be here watching over you, my beautiful Kagome…" his voice fell to a nearly inaudible whisper. "My Kagome." He rested a hand on the covers of her bed, patting her on the back, and slowly succumbing to sleep.

Sure enough, she was feeling better by the next morning.

- )+(-)+(-

_But she doesn't even know that that mattered to me, does she? Because I can't even get up the courage to tell her…_

"**DAMMIT!"**

"…Inu…yasha…?" comes a quiet voice behind him.

He turns his head slowly, blushing as he sees the speaker.

"Where are the others, wench?" he blurts out harshly, embarrassed that she has heard his exclamation, though she does not know herself to be the source of his consternation. His cheeks turn a faint pink. "Sorry…Kagome."

She looks at him, one eyebrow raised. "Are you feeling ok? You've been acting a little weirdly all day."

She sits down next to him in the middle of the road. He is distracted by the sun in her hair, so black that it shines blue in the sun. He fails to respond immediately, and the birds can be heard chirping again, the sound irritating him but bringing him back to his senses. Finally, he replies, "er…I'm ok. But where are Sango and the Monk?"

"Well…" she gives a small smile. "When Miroku found out that the village that we just passed through was the last that we would see for the day, he suddenly discovered an ominous cloud over the headman's house. Sango stayed with him to make sure that he would…behave…around the headman's rather pretty daughter. But, I wanted to make sure that you were ok, so I told them I was going to keep going until I found you. I'm glad you were close…my feet were starting to hurt." She grimaces, rubbing said body part with one hand.

His heart soars: not only does she care about him enough to pass up a night in the headman's house and walk alone to find him, but he will be able to spend time with her, no monk to fight after his roving hands went too far (again), no Sango to take up Kagome's time.

"Thank you." He blurts out, not thinking.

Her mouth falls open, and he realizes that he had spoken out loud. "…_What?_ Did you just…are you actually ok?"

"Dammit, woman, I was just trying to be _polite_, like you're always bothering me to be. What's the big deal?"

She shakes her head. "There's the Inuyasha I know."

_Good save_, he thinks. "Wench?"

She groans. "Yeah?"

"It's getting late. Do you wanna find somewhere to sleep tonight, or not?"

"Sure. What do you suggest we do?"

He glances around and smirks, self-satisfied. "I saw a cave through the trees. It's just off the path, 100 yards into the woods on the left." Then, still with a complacent, confident air (even though his heart is in his throat), he stands up, and falls flat on his face.


	3. You and Your Thesis

…**Three…**

"But there's something in the way you laugh

That makes me feel like a child

Aspects of life they confuse me

You and your thesis amuse me"

* * *

There is a pause, both are momentarily stunned. Suddenly, Kagome laughs. "I didn't even have to say it that time. What happened?"

"Feh…I tripped, woman. Isn't that obvious?"

Laughter again, this time she is too overcome for words.

He grins, honeyed eyes crinkling in amusement. A true smile. He can never _actually_ stay angry with her, and this time, he doesn't even pretend.

Suddenly, his smile takes on a mischievous glint, crooked at the corners, a glimpse of fangs between slightly parted lips. Her laughing suddenly tapers off, and she glances at him nervously, and then away, at the rapidly darkening sky.

He looks forward to sunset: unlike sunrise, he is never alone. She is always with him, ar at least awake and close by. _But first..._

_You'll regret that laughter woman. I'll give you something to laugh about. _

"Are you laughing at me wench?"

She looks at him nervously, not replying.

"Nobody laughs at me and gets away with it." He comes at her, clawed hands extendsd, and glinting in the rosy, dim light. "Prepare to be punished."

She is frozen to the spot, now with fear. Her brown eyes are disbelieving and pleading.

He almost feels guilty…_But it's time for a little fun. _

He finally reaches her, the tension at a fever pitch, and…

begins to fiercely tickle her.

Her laughter sings out in bursts, amid choked out pleas for mercy. She gasps for breath, writhing on the ground under his hands. He feels a tightness in the back of his throat. _Shit! Why did I just do that! She must be completely confused now…and now…I can't stop reacting to seeing her like that. Dammit! What do I do?_

"Go, wench! Run, and don't let me catch you!" Now the smirk is pasted on.

Still laughing, oblivious, with mirthful tears in the corners of her brown eyes, she snatches up her pack, forgotten in the "struggle" a few minutes ago, and playfully glances at him before running away. His neck and ears get hot, and he barely remembers to mirror her playful gesture one of his own. She shrugs at the strained-looking smirk on his face and heads to the cave that he had pointed out earlier.

He gives her a bit of a head start, using the time to collect his thoughts.

_Shit, shit_**SHIT**! _I can't spend a night in that cave with her! Not now, not alone! What do I do? Dammit, it's my fault. It would have been ok if we had gone straight to the cave, but no, like a little boy, I just had to have my fun_. He sighs wearily and stands up_. But I'm not a little boy any more. My reaction proved that_. He snorts at himself wryly, beginning to walk down the road. _Well, I've made my bed, now I have to sleep in it. _He stops in his tracks, the faded blush that headed his neck earlier coming back in full force, spreading to his cheeks…

_Shit, I did not need that image in my head. _

A few minutes later, a rather flustered young man enters the cave.

"Inuyasha?"

"Wench?"

"Where'd you go?"

"Er…" _Shit..._ His mind races, finally remembering that he had provided for a question like this. _Excellent_. He pulls from his haori a rabbit that he had caught a short while before entering the cave. "I was catching dinner, woman, what did you think?"

"Ok…but Inuyasha, you know I have ramen. I thought you liked it." Her brown eyes are confused; his actions are starting to unnerve her.

He masks his guilt at being the cause of her discomfort, stalking off to sit in a corner, arms inside the sleeves of his haori, this time, not hiding form the outside world, but from the tumult of his mind. He doesn't reply. _I forgot…_

They settle into a companionable, if slightly tense, silence.

_What am I stressing over?_ He wonders. _Why now? _But he knows the answer. It is the first time in a long while that he has been alone with her, without any real possibility of interference. There is less reason and excuse for him to keep his guard up when it comes to showing his feelings for her.

_What is it she always says?_ He thinks for a moment, breathing in the scent of ramen and cooking rabbit, watching her as she cooks, then smiles slightly_. That's right…_ _"after rain, sunshine." I remember the first time that I heard her say that_. _We had just been kicked out of a village because of the damned monk's idiot behavior with the headmen's daughter_.

-)-0-(-

Normally, no one would have cared. They spent most nights around a campfire, under the gaze of the stars. However, it had already begun to rain, the dark blanket of clouds covering their customary nighttime companions.

Within minutes, there was a downpour. Inconveniently, they were in the middle of a field, the only shelter nearby a large tree. Dodging raindrops, they raced towards its black silhouette, illuminated suddenly by a far-off bolt of lightening.

Finally, soaked to the bone, they reached their haven. Under the canopy, there was a small circle of dry grass surrounding the massive trunk. They sat in this circle with their backs to the tree, the monk cowering from the fuming silver-haired hanyou next to him.

The girl, noticing her companions' gloomy moods, dug in her massive yellow bag, which was, miraculously, dry on the inside. Brown eyes smiling slightly, she handed everyone a little packet wrapped in a crinkly paper-like material.

"What are these, wench?" demanded the irate, sodden young man, amber eyes narrowing.

She sighed, but was drowned out by the pounding rain on the branches above them. "Food, Inuyasha. We can't make a fire, so this is it. Back home, we eat them when we don't have time to cook anything. They're called Slim-Fast bars. Actually yours is a Balance bar."

He did not reply, only stared at the small, rectangular package.

She sighed again and opened his bar for him. "Inuyasha…"

The rest of the group had seen her open the bar and followed suit, munching quietly.

"What?" he asked, his mouth full of peanut butter and chocolate. _This is actually sort of good…I feel bad…_

"It's not so bad. Remember, after rain, sunshine!"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

She shook her head, her black hair sticking to her sodden shirt. He flushed slightly—her white top was nearly transparent, and clung to her body like an entranced lover. He was suddenly jealous of her shirt.

"It means," she began, pulling him out of his trance, "that when something bad happens, something better usually follows. It's like seeing the light at the end of the tunnel." She paused, seeing his raised eyebrow. "Never mind. It's about hope…and it seemed particularly appropriate in this situation..." She trailed off, smiling slightly, looking off into the distance, past the pounding rain.

"Feh," he said, but a small smile graced his lips.

-)-0-(-

The same smile is on his face now, as he remembers.

"Inuyasha?"

He shakes his head, bringing himself back to reality. He flushes when he realizes that he has been staring at her through his reverie, and, having felt his eyes on her, the dark-haired girl is returning his gaze. _Damn…_

"Yeah?"

"What are you looking at?"

He opens his mouth, then closes it again. _Might as well just tell her…this just wasn't quite the context that I had in mind, but... _He takes a deep breath, and licks his lips.


	4. Tear to Tear and Mouth to Tongue

…**Four…**

"After and afternoon with you  
And your rich brown eyes,  
Your lips, and dark hair  
Elbows and exposed knees tossing toward the ceiling  
After an afternoon…  
Face to palm  
Tear to tear  
And mouth to tongue  
Heart to ground  
I am in love."

* * *

Before he can speak, she lets out a yelp.

He looks up sharply from the floor where he had been studying the dirt, which had suddenly become superbly interesting, and sees her holding her hand in pain, eyes glistening with unshed tears.

Feeling the need to protect her from the pain, as has always been his self-appointed task, he rushes to her.

He sees that she had, while speaking to him, been ignoring the ramen and rabbit soup that she had been preparing. While stirring, she had splashed herself with the broth, and a red welt was already beginning to form where the boiling liquid had touched her pale skin.

"Are you ok?"

She nods, head tilted down so that her bangs obscure her eyes.

He rummages through her bag and finds her medicine box. Having seen her treat multiple burns, he knows what do.

He goes over to where she is sitting and crouches next to her, picking up her limp hand. He rinses off her finger, fighting the urge to kiss it painless. Slowly, carefully, he wipes it down with a pad wetted with alcohol. He then unwraps a bandage from its paper sleeve and, hands trembling slightly at their proximity, wraps the it around her finger. He mentally shakes himself. _Snap out of it! She is hurt, and you helped her. That's all this was, nothing else. _

"Thank you, Inuyasha." She looks up at him for the first time. The light from the fire glances off of a single tear running down her cheek.

Upon seeing her cry, his restraints are forgotten, and he sinks to the floor beside her and pulls her onto his lap, wrapping his arms around her small form.

Instead of comforting her, this only seems to make her cry harder. Confused, he reacts by doing as his mother had when he was a pup, and begins to rub her back and run his fingers slowly through her hair, feeling the silky waves slide over his fingers.

_This doesn't seem to be helping. Did I do something to make her cry so brokenheartedly? Please tell me that I didn't hurt her!_ He cups her chin in his hand, trying to get a better look at her face to see what is truly troubling her. She refuses to look at him. Tentative, shy fingers brush the tears off of her cheeks and, unable to speak, unbidden tears begin to fall from molten gold eyes. He closes his eyes, too late in trying to stop the tears from leaving their wet tracks on his cheeks.

One of the salty droplets falls on her nose. She looks up and, seeing him crying softly, a confused expression flits across her face. It is gone as fast as it came, however, and resolve shines in chocolate eyes still wet with tears.

_What is she doing? Brushing them off? Oh Gods! She sees me crying…She must think I'm so weak… _He refuses to open his eyes and see her looking at him with the pity that he knows must lie in the warm, brown depths of her eyes.

One unintercepted tear trails its way down his cheek towards his mouth. She reaches it just as it hits his lips, and, suddenly, lips meet with lips. His eyes open with a shock, and he sees her kneeling, facing him. In his misery, he had not noticed her leave his lap, or take his hands in her own. Finally, he realizes what she had been doing.

_She was kissing my tears away. _

He closes his eyes, smiling against her lips in his joy. _Maybe…_

He wraps his arms around her small form, tightly and protectively, moving her back into his lap.

He meets her lips again, tentatively, shyly at first, just as he had brushed away the tears from her cheeks earlier. To his amazement, she kisses him back.

His kiss becomes more desperate; he kisses her as though he is drowning, and to kiss her is to breathe. His lower abdomen tightens and his throat aches.

_I'm not sure what I want more: to dance around the room, singing with joy, or to stay like this, with her forever, and never stop_._ Because if we stop, she might think it was a mistake…_

He pulls away. _I need to know. _

"Kagome…" he rasps out, struggling to speak, his voice hoarse with desire and apprehension.

Her eyes open slowly, and she is smiling slightly. "Yes, Inuyasha?"

"I…" Trails off, almost losing his nerve.

"Mmmhmm?"

"I love you," he chokes out, barely making a noise.

"I know."

She kisses him lightly, smiling against his lips.

Confusion is reflected in honey-colored eyes before they close._ She does? But… _

"And I love you."

His eyes shoot wide open. Then he smiles. _Now that I know that… _

His lips crash against hers, and he pulls her even closer, wanting to be as much in contact with her as possible. She wraps her arms around his back, slender fingers catching in tousled silver locks. She pulls his head down, closer, seeming to enjoy the proximity as much as he.

His hands move to her cheeks, and he runs the tips of his claws across them, featherlight, trailing over her cheekbones, through her dark hair to the back of her head and then down her neck and spine. Nibbling on her bottom lip, he feels the shiver that follows his fingers down her back, and the way her hips move against his. His eyes shoot wide open, as if in epiphany. He suddenly, but gently pushes away.

_We can't. Not yet. She can't know what she's doing, and I want to make sure that this is what she truly wants. I want her to want me as badly as I want her. _

"…Inu…yasha…?" Her brown eyes are now hazy with desire.

He smiles softly, but falters. _I almost lost my resolve, seeing her like that…but …II shouldn't…_

"Kagome, there _is_ food cooking. It's already starting to burn…"

She visibly shakes herself, then sighs and runs a finger through her now tousled black locks. "Right."

She walks over, and takes the pot off of the fire. He hears her place a lid on it.

"There, now it can wait. Now, where were we?"

He looks up at her in surprise, molten gold eyes widening. _I thought that for sure that she'd want to take it slow…_

Seeming to read his mind, she gives him a half smile, lips still red and slightly swollen with his kissing. He swallows hard, controlling himself. _I will not jump her... I will let her speak before jumping her… I will…I've just waited so damned long for this! _

"You're wondering why I'm jumping right into this?" she raises her eyebrows, and he nods, slightly surprised that she should know his mind so well. "I'm not, really. If you think about it, we've been living together for two years, and I've been in love with you for…" She trails off playfully. The darkness partially hides her eyes as she looks down at the dirt floor of their cave, pretending not to remember. Sensing his tension, she relents, grinning broadly.

"…since almost the beginning. If that's not taking it slow, then I'd like to know what is?"

He grins back at her and sweeps her into his arms, bridal style. He crosses the cave, elated, and sets her down gently on her sleeping bag, which she had already unrolled in the corner. He lies down next to her on his side, his head propped up on his fist, drinking her in as though he has never seen her before. _And now I can look at her without having to pretend to be annoyed so that she won't see what she really makes me feel…_

She is smiling slightly at him. Her clothing is slightly askew from his energetic reaction to her earlier declarations. The heat from the fire has added a flush to her cheeks that reminds him of rose petals. He reaches out to touch her cheek, finding it as just as soft. Continuing to stroke it absently, he continues his survey of her body. His eyes travel down her frame, committing her to memory as though he might never see her again. He admires how smoothly her neck flows into her shoulders, and her breastbone as it curves outwards with the swell of her chest, the shape of which he can see through the light fabric of her shirt. He blushes slightly, and quickly shifts his gaze. The firelight caresses her bare legs, making the flesh seem lit from within. Long black hair shines like midnight in the flickering light. Her eyes, bright with joy, are half closed in drowsiness.

_She looks like something…not human…a goddess…_ He kisses her, lovingly and softly, not wanting to force her fully awake.

"Kagome?"

She yawns slightly, moving closer to his body's heat. "Yes?"

"You're… beautiful."

She looks up at him, and smiles softly. She then lays her head on his chest, nuzzling him slightly, and drinking in his warmth.

"Thank you, Inuyasha."

He smiles down at the dark head on his chest, and begins to comb his fingers through her hair as she dozes off.

"Always, my Kagome. My love."

* * *

Aw! The end of my favorite fic so far…such fun to write! I wrote this last chapter fast because I couldn't wait (it earns the story its PG 13 rating, I think) but I stopped it before it went further. There may be a sequel…let me know if you'd be interested in reading one…I'm not going to make the effort to write one if no one really wants to read it. Plus, I love hearing from you guys, even if it is just a few words of encouragement or critique. Review with ideas for songs to use for the next fic, if you have any that you think would work well (perhaps more of a lemon?). Thanks to all who read the story, and I hope to hear from you soon. Sabai sabai! 


End file.
